Road to the Future
by Chris Star
Summary: One year after the events of the game, Sayori has a new challenge to overcome.  -Follows Ittosai's story-


"Sayori..."the blond-haired man murmured to his female companion. "Are you not feeling well?"

The brown-haired young woman in the pink kimono looked up at her bespectacled-companion from across the table they sat at in the tea room of the inn they were staying at. She hadn't said anything because she hadn't wanted to worry him, but she had been feeling rather nauseous the last few days. She was just thankful that they had the spare funds at the moment to be resting in an inn, and not out on the road as they usually were.

"I'm fine, Ittosai."she assurd him with a smile as she sipped the tea that the innkeeper had given her. Ittosai was unconvinced. He and Sayori had been together for almost a year now, and he knew his lover well enough to know that she would hide when she was feeling sick or upset just so he wouldn't be worried. She still hadn't gotten it through her pretty little head that that worried him even more.

"Don't lie to me, onna."he said with a frown, again subconsciously slipping back into the way he'd addressed her back then... when all they were was a princess and one of the man hired to rescue her from would-be assassins. He still hadn't completely grown out of calling her that occasionally, but these days it was usually only when he was annoyed or upset with her, something that happened less and less frequently.

Sayori let out a little sigh. For him to call her that, Ittosai must be really worried and therefore annoyed that she was keeping things to herself.

"Alright, I have been feeling a little nauseoust lately, but I'm sure it's nothing."

"It's not nothing."he said, his tone softening in a way that he only did with her. "Sayori, if you're sick you should see a doctor. I remember seeing a clinic when we came into town."

"But I hate doctors."the girl from the future whined. A slight chuckle passed the blond's lips. In getting to know his lover over the past year, he had obviously grown to know quite a bit about her life in the future. To this day, he still marveled at some of the things she'd been willing to sacrifice just to be with him-a roof over her head every night for one. But no matter how many times he told her she could return to either her own time or to Hatsuhime's palace, she had always smiled and renued the promise she'd made so long ago to never leave him.

But one thing he'd learned she most definitely did not miss about her world was the doctors. Sayori had been a generally healthy teenage girl, so she'd rarely had to visit the doctor-except for vaccinations. As such, in her mind she always automatically connected going to the doctor with getting a shot.

"Sayori,"he said around another chuckle. "I've told you repeatedly that you don't need to worry about shots."

Sayori paused, a frown on her lips. "Promise?"

"I promise."he laughed again.

"Well... alright..."

"What seems to be the problem, miss?"the doctor asked Sayori as Ittosai waited outside the clinic, as Sayori had requested. Even though he'd promised she wouldn't be getting any shots, she was sure she was still going to get at least some of the more embarassing questions the doctors asked in her time-When was your last period? Are you sexually active?-and she would rather not have her lover in the room for those. Granted, he knew the answers to most of those questions full well, but there was just something about him hearing the discussion that she didn't like.

"I've been feeling a bit nauseous lately."she told the doctor softly. "I'm sure it's nothing, but Ittosai insisted I see a doctor."

"That would be the young man waiting for you?"the doctor questioned.

"That's right."

"Would he be your husband?" Sayori blushed at the question, but smiled almost dreamily at the thought.

"Not exactly. He's my... lover." she still wasn't used to that word. In her world, 'boyfriend' would have been sufficient enough to describe their relationship. But in addition to the term still being relatively new and not well heard of in this era, somehow the words 'boyfriend and girlfriend' sounded too... temporary for them. Boyfriends and girlfriends broke up all the time. It was rare for any one girl to only have one boyfriend in her life. But lover... that had a ring to it that in Sayori's mind sounded much stronger, more firm, permanent.

"Then I take it you are sexually active, miss?"Sayori turned bright red as the question interrupted her romantic thoughts. She'd half-expected the question to be phrased a little less bluntly than it was in her world.

"Y-yes, I am..."she said, the first time in her life she'd ever given that answer to a doctor asking that question.

The doctor nodded. "Alright then. I'm going to need to examine you, so if you'll just lie down..."

Sayori emerged from the clinic with a dazed and surprised look in her green eyes. Ittosai was immediately at her side, unnerved by the look.

"Sayori. Is everything all right? What did the doctor say?"

"Ittosai..."she murmured. "Let's... Let's go back to the inn."

"Huh? Sayori, what's the matter."

"I'll tell you at the inn. I promise."

Ittosai frowned, but agreed and they went back to the inn. Once in their room, Ittosai sat on the futon and looked up at the girl. She was pacing back and forth, as if trying to think of the right words to say. Finally, she settle with...

"Ittosai, you love me, right?"

"Of course I love you."he said, taken aback at the question. It seemed a silly question, seeing as she had all but dragged the words out of him a year ago, and now that he was used to those words coming out of his mouth he said them to her almost daily without any prompt from her.

"No matter what happens?"she looked at him pleadingly.

"Of course. Sayori, what's the matter?"he was on his feet now, hands on the girl's shoulders as he looked at her worriedly. What was going on? Why was she asking him these things? Was Sayori... dying?

Looking up into amethyst eyes, Sayori took a deep breath and then said the last words Ittosai ever expected to hear.

"Ittosai... I'm pregnant."

Author's Note: Okay, I know I have people waiting on updates for Crystal Moon rigt now (Particularly Atea-chan, who has been following me faithfully both here and on YouTube ^.^), but I recently downloaded this game, and I'm having a bit of an obsession right now. I pulled an all-nighter getting everyone's Happy, Sad, and Death endings. Mon-Mon's Sad ending was the only one that REALLY made me cry. I got a little teary at Jin's Sad one, but on Mon-Mon's the tears were actually running down my face! But I digress. The point is, I took a liking to Ittosai's story-everyone he's ever loved has left him behind, and he never thought any woman would ever love him. Even in his Happy ending, he still has this air about him that suggests he wouldn't be at all surprised if Sayori were to eventually leave him. So in my mind, an extension appeared: If he never expected any woman to ever love him, I'm sure he never expected he would ever be a father either! That's the premise for this story.

Anyway, this and my VOCALOID story are mainly working as my ways to keep myself from getting all around sick of writing. I know people want me to update Crystal Moon, but my problem is that if I try to devote all my time to one story, I get sick of it, resulting in completely giving up on it for extended periods of time. So while Crystal Moon is still the main project I'm working on, I'll also be working on this and VOCALOID to keep myself from getting totally sick of it.


End file.
